A two-day fact-finding mission by the Council of Europe’s Division on Migration and Refugees (DMR) wrapped up in Helsinki on 8 October, with delegates praising Finland’s municipal-led integration model while urging continued investment in services for the 50,000 Ukrainians currently under temporary protection. According to the DMR communiqué released on 9 October, talks with eight ministries, the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman and civil-society groups centred on how the 2025 Integration Act shifted day-to-day responsibility for migrant integration from central government to Finland’s 309 municipalities. Local authorities now draw up personalised plans covering language training, employment pathways and social-orientation courses. Delegates singled out Helsinki’s Integration Office and the Vallila Help Centre for Ukrainians as examples of “promising practice”, noting that unaccompanied minors receive housing and support until age 23, while trafficking victims have access to individualised health and rehabilitation services. Border security also featured prominently. Officials briefed the delegation on the continued closure of all eastern land-border crossing points with Russia under the 2025 Border Security Act and on the designation of the Non-Discrimination Ombudsman as the Independent Monitoring Mechanism for new EU asylum border procedures. The mission underlined that the measures must remain proportionate and subject to judicial oversight to comply with European human-rights standards. In parallel, the Interior Ministry confirmed that Finland will resettle 500 quota refugees in 2026, maintaining intake levels despite fiscal belt-tightening. The DMR highlighted Finland’s automatic nationality safeguard for otherwise-stateless children as an EU best practice—a provision likely to gain relevance as displaced Ukrainian families assess long-term options. For employers, the visit is a reminder that municipal services will be the first port of call when relocating staff to Finland. HR teams should familiarise themselves with local language-training offers and integration advisers in the destination municipality. Companies operating near the eastern border are advised to plan for the indefinite closure of Russian land crossings and route freight or travellers via air or sea until further notice.
